


To The Night Another Body

by fhsa_archivist



Category: 24 (TV)
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-23
Updated: 2004-01-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 17:24:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12798927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhsa_archivist/pseuds/fhsa_archivist
Summary: none





	To The Night Another Body

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

Kneeling behind boulders, bathed in moonlight, Jack listened while insects chirped and buzzed, tapped out their rhythm with a finger against the rock. One two three four. Just a few more seconds now. Time enough to think about this. He hoped he was far enough away now. He hoped it happened quickly. 

 

Time enough to remember.

 

So many sacrifices had been made today, tonight, always. How many in the explosion at CTU? After eighteen months away, he still knew over half the people there. The phone company guy? That new computer tech? How many more? 

 

He'd sworn he'd never do this again. The last time he'd give up his wife's life, his unborn child's life. It still hurt too much to think about them. Why had he said he'd do this? He'd taken Palmer's call because he was the President, because he was a man with integrity, honor. A man he had protected. A man he would willingly serve, take a bullet for. Palmer thought he would serve if called. He had listened. He had agreed to listen more. Then he had refused. He'd given enough, right? 

 

Then just as he was about to make his escape, she had appeared, wearing a print dress, a sweater tossed around her shoulders, and holding a dark haired boy of 4 or 5 by the hand. She hadn't looked at him. Jack sincerely doubted there was any god involved in all this. But if that was God talking to him, He knew Jack saw, received His message, understood. Knew he would comply. He'd turned, returned to CTU and agreed, then chopped off a man's head with a hacksaw and hand delivered it. 

 

Since then he'd seen how many bodies today? Reza, killed by who knows who. Nina betraying him once again, Nina killing Sayed Ali. How much of a mistake was she? How much had she used him? Did she go running to her "employer" with secrets after every fuck? Nina wasn't stupid, just wrong. He'd spent months trying to figure out why he hadn't seen that, how much he'd overlooked and how he'd screwed himself and CTU by overlooking it. If he'd just caught one detail, Terri would still be alive. He would blame himself forever for that. And he swore he wouldn't think about that now, but there's simply no way to get away from it.

 

And he fell for Nina's lies again today. Why? He hated her, knew her true character now, so why had he still trusted her? How the hell did she know just exactly what to say to get to him? How much time had that cost them? He didn't give a fuck about Ali's life. The man was a terrorist. But the information he had could have saved a lot of lives. Now Nina had taken that, too. At least he'd had the last word there. That would stay between the two of them. He hoped she lived a good long life in prison, and that it festered in her rotten little brain for fifty years.

 

What next? Would he be able to walk away after this? Was it over for him? Would Tony try to draw him back in or let him go? If they need him, if Palmer needs him, is he in it to the end now? Tony's another good man and at least he was trying. This thing with Nina must have hit him hard too. And Tony still seems to trust him, after all that. Or did he? Could he trust Tony? Everything seemed okay. Maybe they had enough of a truce going. Tony had to feel his way around things if he was going to make this work. Figure out how to do his new job. 

 

He leaned forward a little, away from the rocks, watching. His heart was pounding a little too hard, and time was doing that slow thing. He was much too used to that, to waiting for bombs to explode and guns to fire. The insects had stopped buzzing. He couldn't see the plane now. It was either too far or behind a rock. He'd the see the aftermath, even if it didn't come back into sight. Had he run far enough? He was supposed to know that, know exactly where he was. They had calculated the time down to the second, but he hadn't expected to have time to think. 

 

He didn't know where Kim is, just that she was out there and that she thought he was on the plane. No, it wasn't his turn to die this time, but Kim didn't know that. She was probably scared to death. Thinking she was about to be an orphan. And she wasn't even really safe. Who knew where the hell she was. She'd know soon enough, as soon as he could get to a phone and as soon as CTU could find her again, but he hated that she was thinking she was alone now. Would she be able to see the bomb? Why the fuck did fate keep tossing this crap at his family? He was trained for it; they weren't. Fuck this.

 

He watched the plane's final seconds of descent. That plane was supposed to have been his coffin. Now it was Mason's. Whatever George Mason might have done in the past, however much they might have disagreed, Mason had proven himself a good man in the end and he didn't deserve this. George had a kid too and now that kid didn't have a father. Wouldn't have anyway by the end of the day. At least this way his death will be quick. Way to relieve the guilt, Jack. Not his fault, though. George had gone where he'd gone on his own. Well, he would have done the same. He was about to, right up until Mason had convinced him to bail. 

 

One more second and he watched, as the job was finished and another man died, and slipped away into the night.

 

*End*


End file.
